Andrei Kirilenko is playing like a man possessed.
More accurately, the Utah Jazz forward is playing to remind Jazz brass and fans that he’s still the same lanky, disruptive force they drafted in ’99.
Kirilenko led the Jazz (5-2) to victory in Seattle on Friday night, 103-101, and another at home Saturday against Memphis, 118-94.
In Seattle, Carlos Boozer once again scored a game-high 27 points and recorded his sixth straight double-double by pulling down 15 rebounds. Ronnie Brewer scored 16 and Deron Williams added 14 and 11 assists.
The real story of the game, however, was the re-emergence of Kirilenko’s stat-stuffing ways. The former All-Star had 10 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, four blocks and four steals — narrowly missing both a triple-double and a rare five-by-five.
All this while guarding one of the most heralded rookies in recent memory — Seattle’s Kevin Durant. Kirilenko flustered Durant into 7-of-21 shooting and saved the Jazz by blocking Durant’s potential game-tying layup as time expired. Durant still scored 20, and Chris Wilcox threw in another 17 for the Sonics.
As if to show the first time wasn’t a fluke, Kirilenko struck again the next night.
Against the Grizzlies, the Russian tallied 15 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and four steals. He nearly had a triple-double by the end of the third quarter when the Jazz were up by 18.
“AK’s had a great attitude,” Boozer said afterward on Saturday. “He’s been working hard. He’s doing everything. It feels like he’s everywhere. He’s been sharing the ball, and he’s a great teammate. We had two opportunities to get him a triple-double in the fourth quarter, but we couldn’t get it done.”
Kirilenko didn’t seem to mind coming oh so close to his third triple-double of his career.
“The whole team was looking for it,” Kirilenko said of getting his final assist. “I had opportunities, but it’s just a game. You can’t predict what’s going to happen in the game. Like (Friday), I had seven assists in five minutes, you know?”
Boozer fell just three rebounds short of continuing his streak of double-doubles this season. The power forward scored 31 with seven rebounds. Deron Williams scored 20, dished 13 and nabbed five rebounds.
Rudy Gay continued his breakout season for Memphis by dropping 18 points, including a handful of eye-popping dunks. Pau Gasol was held to just 11 points and four rebounds.
The Jazz hope Kirilenko can continue his versatile play tonight as they host the Sacramento Kings at 7 p.m. at EnergySolutions Arena.
The depleted Kings are without a pair of stars, and they’re paying for it in the standings, where they are 2-4 to start the season. Standout point guard Mike Bibby is out for at least another month with a torn ligament in his left thumb.
Former All-Star and defensive specialist Ron Artest will be serving the final game of his seven-game suspension tomorrow night. He will return with his team on Wednesday against Indiana.
Shooting guard Kevin Martin leads the Kings in scoring and is second in the NBA with an average of 28.0 points per game.
Lennie MahlerAndrei Kirilenko puts up a layup during the Jazz’s win against Memphis. Kirilenko nearly earned a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.